The Best Laid Plans
by Lotamoxie
Summary: Piper is trying to plan Chris’s wiccanning, but attacking demons, a new power and a jealous Wyatt keep getting in the way. Plus, Piper finds out that Leo's been lying to her. COMPLETED.
1. Chapter 1

**THE BEST LAID PLANS**

****

**SUMMARY**: There's a new baby in the house and nothing is going the way Piper planned.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**: This is a standalone story, not a sequel.

**SPOILERS**: May contain spoilers for It's a Bad Bad Bad Bad World (Season 6 finale).

**DISCLAIMER**: I own nothing but any characters I create and my story.

**ARCHIVING**: Please do not post this story, in part or in whole, without my permission.

_Chapter 1_

"LEO!" Piper shouted again. She could hear baby Chris crying and she could see him in his crib, but she was unable to reach him or do anything to calm him down. Besides giving her a headache, his frightened cries were heartwrenching.

"It's okay, sweetie. Mommy's here. You're okay." Piper tried to calm her youngest son with her voice, but it wasn't working. Chris just continued to cry inconsolably. She knew the feeling; she felt like crying herself. This was not the way this day was supposed to go. She had a lot of plans for today, and they didn't include hanging around the manor.

"LEO! I need you now!" Piper called again, for what seemed like the hundredth time. It felt like she'd been waiting for Leo to come for hours.

Piper heard the front door open and close. "It's about time." she thought to herself. She called out loud "Hey! I need your help in here." to whoever had just come home.

"Piper, is that you?" she heard Phoebe call out from the foyer. "Where are you? How come Chris is crying like that?"

"Just hanging out in the living room. Get in here!" Piper called out irritably.

Phoebe walked into the living room, not knowing what to expect. She could hear baby Chris crying miserably. Phoebe stopped in the living room doorway, unable to believe her eyes. "Piper! What are you doing?"

Piper was hanging from the ceiling by her arms. In fact, it looked like her arms ended at the ceiling – no hands were visible. Her arms looked as though they began at the ceiling - the same with the crib. The part of the crib where the baby was lying was hanging from the ceiling and the rest looked as if it were coming through the ceiling.

"What does it look like I'm doing? Check on the baby. Is he alright?" Piper called out, wishing it had been Paige or Leo to come home. They might have been able to orb her and Chris out of their predicament. Her arms were aching badly and she had long since lost feeling in her hands. Her hands were supporting her entire weight. She knew her fingers were still there, she'd been able to wiggle them, but her hands weren't designed to support the weight of her body for hours.

Phoebe craned her neck, trying to look in the crib that was over her head. She wished again that she hadn't lost the power of levitation. That would have made this easier. Instead, she retrieved chair and climbed up on it so that she could peer into the crib. Chris looked alright, he was just unhappy. There wasn't enough room to remove Chris. The rails were too close together and the top of the crib was sticking into the ceiling so she couldn't lift him out.

"He's okay, honey." Phoebe told Piper. "Where's Wyatt? Is he okay?"

"I don't know. He orbed down here earlier and saw what happened. Then he orbed out. He orbs in every so often. I've been calling him but he's ignoring me." Piper cried out. "Now get me down from here."

"Leo!" Phoebe called out, trying to get her brother-in-law.

"Oh, good idea. I never would have thought of that." Piper snarked.

"Maybe I should find Wyatt first. He probably doesn't like being by himself. Not after…"

Piper and Phoebe heard the sound of someone orbing into the foyer.

"It's about time!" Piper called out. "Leo!"

"What happened here, a demon?" Paige said from the doorway, laughing.

"I don't know what happened. She was like this when I got home." Phoebe said. "Can you help Chris?"

"Chris!" Paige said, and the baby telekinetically orbed out of the crib and into her arms. "Are you okay, sweetie?" She takes a whiff. "I think he needs a new diaper, Mom."

"I'll get right on that, Paige." Piper snarks, trying to glare down at her youngest sister.

"Why don't I take Chris upstairs and change him. Paige, you see if you can get Piper down." Phoebe said, taking the still crying Chris out of Paige's arms and hurrying out of the room.

"Maybe I could orb you out like I did the baby." Paige suggested to her cranky sister.

"It's worth a try." Piper replied.

"I hope your hands come with the rest of you." Paige added.

"WHAT?" Phoebe heard Piper shriek as she took Chris upstairs to Piper's bedroom. The changing table was in the closet, where Chris's crib was… well, where it normally was. When Phoebe walked into the closet she could see Piper's hands sticking up through the floor, next to the top of the crib.

"What the hell… oops… Sorry, Chris. You didn't hear Aunt Phoebe say that. What the heck happened here?" Phoebe exclaimed, looking at the odd sight.

Chris was still crying, so Phoebe quickly changed his diaper, which calmed him somewhat. Just then Piper's hands orbed out, leaving two holes in the floor behind. "Well, she got to keep her hands." Phoebe said, just as she heard a crash coming from downstairs. Holding Chris, she awkwardly bent down to peer through one of the holes. Apparently Paige had dropped Piper after orbing her out of the ceiling.

Phoebe straightened up and rocked Chris, who was still crying. She could hear Paige and Piper coming upstairs.

"I apologized, Piper." She heard Paige saying.

"I can't believe you dropped me." Piper replied, entering her bedroom. "Phoebe, is Chris okay?"

"I can't believe you're still saying that." Paige said as she entered the room behind her sister.

Phoebe quickly handed Chris to Piper. It was better to stop this argument before it could really get started. There was nothing like a crying baby to distract Piper. "Here you go, Chris. Go to mommy."

Piper grabbed her son, wanting to see for herself that he was alright. A cursory inspection showed him to be unhappy but in one piece. Now she had another son to worry about. "Where's Wyatt?"

Phoebe took the cue and grabbed Paige's arm, dragging her from the room. "We'll find him. He's around somewhere." To Paige, Phoebe says "Go check downstairs. I'll look in his bedroom."

Piper rocked her crying son, hoping that her oldest son was alright. He'd been acting strange lately. He was alternately clinging and distant. And he wanted nothing to do with his baby brother.

But, Piper just knew that everything would be alright. Leo had told her how the grown-up Chris had returned to his own time before his infant self had been born. Surely he would have returned if Wyatt was still evil in the future.

"I won't let you have that future, sweetie" Piper said, as she softly kissed her young son's silky brown hair. Soothed by the rocking and his mother's voice, Chris had calmed down and stopped crying. Piper could see that he was already falling asleep.

"Found him!" Phoebe shrieked, coming into the room holding Wyatt.

Chris, startled awake, starting crying again. Piper glared at Phoebe, even though she was relieved to see that Wyatt was alright. Her sons were alright. Now she just had to get back to making sure that today went the way she had planned. They'd had problems the day of Wyatt's wiccanning, and Piper was determined that Chris's wiccanning would go off without a hitch.

_TBC…_


	2. Chapter 2

**THE BEST LAID PLANS**

****

**SPOILERS**: May contain spoilers for It's a Bad Bad Bad Bad World (Season 6 finale).

_Chapter 2_

"What do you think happened, Piper?" Phoebe asked as Piper tried to calm baby Chris down again.

"I don't know." Piper said, gently rocking Chris.

"But what if it happens again?" Phoebe said as she and Piper headed out of the bedroom to go back downstairs.

Crossing the foyer, Phoebe and Piper hear Paige call out "Crib!" Phoebe and Piper walk into the living room in time to see Paige telekinetically orb the crib out of the ceiling. Paige gestured at the orbing crib and placed it on the floor.

Phoebe put Wyatt down on the floor so that he can play with his favorite blocks. Piper put Chris on the floor nearby so that he can watch Wyatt float the blocks. Chris reaches out his arms and some of the blocks float over above him. Piper coos at her youngest son's display of magic. But Wyatt snatches the block back telekinetically. "Mine."

"Wyatt, that wasn't nice." Piper said to Wyatt.

"He's almost two. That's how toddlers act, Piper. He's got a new brother to adjust to. Give him time." Paige said.

"I want to know what happened to you, Piper. How did you end up stuck in the ceiling?" Phoebe butted in, demanding to know.

"Well, I…" Piper began, but stopped when she heard someone orb in. Leo appears in the living room wearing his usual street clothes instead of a gold Elder's robe.

"Leo, where have you been? Things have been crazy here all morning." Piper exclaimed, still sitting on the floor.

"Up there with the Elders. They wanted to discuss Gideon again." Leo said, smiling at his sons. Leo walked over to his family and sat down.

"Hi, Wyatt! Chris, how you doing, buddy? You ready to be blessed by the family?" Leo said, picking his youngest son up off the floor. Leo was determined to be a good father to Chris this time around. It was strange for him to think that he hadn't been a good father to Chris before. His adult son had so many issues with him; Chris was full of hurt and anger. Leo apparently hadn't been there for his youngest son, just for Piper and Wyatt. And, as Chris had literally pounded into his father's head, Leo didn't even know who his son was.

"So, what's been going on?" Leo asked. "And why is Chris's crib in the living room?"

"Because, apparently it fell through the floor." Paige said, pointing upwards at the holes in the ceiling.

"What?" Leo asked.

"I came home for lunch and found Piper and Chris stuck in the ceiling" Phoebe added.

"What? What happened?" Leo asked again.

"I don't know what happened." Piper said, standing up. "One minute I was putting Chris in his crib for a nap, then I suddenly felt lightheaded so I grabbed onto the crib for balance. The next thing I knew we were falling through the floor."

With a sigh, Piper went to sit down on the sofa. But instead of sinking into the couch cushions she fell through them. It was a terrifying experience for Piper: the sensation of falling and not being able to stop it. She could see the cloth, the padding and the framework of the couch as she fell through it. Instead of hitting the living room floor, though, she went through it. After having fallen through the living room floor, Piper was surprised as she painfully landed on the basement's concrete floor instead of going through it. "Crap!" she exclaimed.

Upstairs in the living room, Leo, Paige and Phoebe stare in shock at the couch.

"Oh my God" Phoebe said, kneeling down to peek under the couch. "Where did she go?"

"Piper?" Leo called out. He stood up and put Chris in his crib. "You'll be okay here, buddy." He said to Chris. Turning to Wyatt, Leo said "Stay here, Wyatt. I'll go find your Mom. She must have fallen down to the basement, or…" The last was for the sisters. "Phoebe, stay here and watch the boys."

Paige and Leo hurried through the kitchen to the basement. "What if she fell through the basement floor too? Where would she end up?" Paige asked.

"I don't know." Leo answered, frantically.

They met Piper, who was just coming up the stairs. Relieved to see that Piper was alright, the trio went back to the living room.

"Leo, go ask the other Elders what's going on." Piper said.

"I can't. They uh… They clipped my wings." Leo replied.

"What? Why?" Piper exclaimed.

"I can't believe they did that to you." Paige chimed in.

"Well, it was the better than the alternative. Some of them wanted to send my soul back to Earth for recycling." Leo admitted.

"WHAT?" shouted Piper, which caused baby Chris to start crying again. A chastened Piper went to calm her son again.

"Recycling?" asked Phoebe. "What does that mean?"

"Have my soul be born again. Start my life over as an infant, with no memory of my sons or any of you."

"WHY would they do that to you?" Phoebe asked, confused.

"Elders aren't supposed to kill. Not only did I kill someone, but it was another Elder." Leo replied.

"That's not fair! He kidnapped Wyatt and he ki… uh, he uh, did other things too. Bad things." Phoebe said. Paige smacked Phoebe's arm for what she almost revealed in from of Piper. However, Piper was already distracted.

Chris was still crying. Piper was leaning over the crib, but hadn't picked him up. She was careful not to touch the crib, also. "Leo, can you see if you can calm him down?" she asked.

"Piper, is everything okay?" Paige asked.

"I'm afraid to touch him." Piper admitted, angry tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Piper, honey, it's going to be alright." Leo tried to console her as he picked up his crying son.

"Don't you tell me that it is going to be alright. I can't control this. One second I'm falling through the floor the next I'm landing on one. What if I was holding one of the boys when this happened? It's bad enough I was touching Chris's crib the first time. I pulled him with me. I could have hurt my baby!" Piper cried angrily.

Leo was trying to calm down baby Chris again. Paige and Phoebe tried to console Piper. Suddenly they heard the sound of someone orbing. Looking around, they saw Wyatt orb out from his place on the floor and reappear inside the crib.

"Mine." Wyatt said as he orbed out again, crib and all.

Piper sighed heavily and headed back upstairs, followed by Leo (who was carrying Chris), Phoebe and Paige.

"Wyatt?" Piper called out. She looked in his bedroom, but he wasn't there.

"What's the matter with Wyatt?" Phoebe called out, peeking into the other bedroom. No Wyatt there either. "Could we have gotten him away from Gideon too late?"

"No. He's fine. I'm sure of it." Leo said as he walked into Piper's bedroom.

"He's just jealous of the baby. He sees the baby getting a lot of attention and he's acting out to get your attention." Paige said, following Leo.

Leo and Paige found Wyatt and the crib in Piper's former closet, now Chris's nursery. Leo laid Chris against one shoulder and picked up Wyatt with the other arm. "Hey, buddy. What's the matter?"

Piper came into the nursery. Paige left to give the family some privacy.

"Hey, sweetie. Are you okay?" Piper asked, not daring to touch her sons.

"Baby go." Wyatt said, reaching out to push Chris.

"Hey, easy there buddy. Chris is your little brother. He's going to stay with us from now on." Leo said, trying to keep the boys apart. "A little help, Piper?"

Piper hesitated, unwilling to endanger either child. Leo sighed and gently laid Chris in the crib. Wyatt frowned down at his brother. "Mine."

"Wyatt," Piper said, reaching out to but not touching her son, "you have a big boy bed now. Paige is right. We need to pay more attention to him. But Grams and the rest of the matriarchs are coming to bless Chris. And I could fall through the floor again any second."

"Not until you call them. We can postpone the wiccanning until things are a little calmer." Leo tried to reason with Piper.

"No, no, no! My son is going to be welcomed into this world with love and grace if it kills me!"

_TBC…_


	3. Chapter 3

**THE BEST LAID PLANS**

* * *

**SPOILERS**: Contains spoilers for It's a Bad Bad Bad Bad World (Season 6 finale).

_Chapter 3_

Piper sighed. Wyatt was acting out, jealous of his younger brother. Baby Chris's day had already been disrupted enough; he needed a little peace and quiet, as well as a nap, if he was going to be awake and alert for his wiccanning that evening. Frankly, so did she. She just didn't have the time. "Leo, why don't you take Wyatt to the park for a little father-son time."

"What about Chris? I don't want him to think that I'm spending more time with Wyatt than him." Leo asked, concerned.

"Leo, he's only two months old. Right now your older son needs some reassurance that you still love him." Piper explained. "I wish I could spend more time with him, but I can't touch him right now. So he needs you. My sisters can stay and help me if I fall through any more floors."

Leo reluctantly agreed and took Wyatt downstairs. After fetching Wyatt's coat and stroller, Leo walked them both to the park. He wanted to spend more time with Wyatt, but he was worried about Piper. She was concerned about falling through the floor and luckily hadn't asked too many questions about why the Elders had clipped his wings. He was glad she hadn't asked. He didn't want to explain his reasons for killing Gideon. Piper had enough to worry about. She didn't need to know the truth about Chris. Piper deserved some peace in her life.

* * *

Back at the manor, though, life was anything but peaceful.

"You can't leave me alone with the baby. I… I can't touch him. What if there's a problem? What if he needs something?" Piper said. She wanted to get her sisters out of her bedroom before they woke up the baby… again.

"Piper, I have to get back to work. Those temp jobs are my raison d'etre. You know that." Paige tried to explain, putting her coat on and preparing to go outside.

"Your family should be your reason for being, Paige. Your nephew needs you. I need you." Piper said, trying to guilt-trip her sister.

"Don't worry about it, Piper. I'll fix it with Elise so that I can work from home today. Paige can go back to her temp job and the whole Power of One deal." Phoebe said, sneaking behind Piper into the nursery. "Aunty Phoebe will watch the baby. Yes she will. Yes she will. Oh, I could just eat you up."

"Still not cute, Phoebe." Piper said, moving to drag her sister away from the baby.

"Okay. I could just smush your cute little cheeks. Yes, I could. Yes, I could. We're going to have so much fun. Yes, we are. Yes, we are." Phoebe was cooing at baby Chris as Piper dragged her out of the nursery.

"Buh-bye" Paige called as she dashed out of the room and hurried downstairs before Phoebe changed her mind.

* * *

With quiet once more descending on the manor, Piper began straightening the attic. Apparently a lot of furniture had been broken while she'd been off at the Magic School. And they had all been stashed in the attic until they could be repaired. If they could be repaired.

Piper dusted off the stand holding the Book of Shadows. Past down through the generations from Melinda Warren, and one day Piper would pass it down to the boys. And possibly Phoebe and Paige's children.

She, Phoebe and Paige had eliminated all of the demonic forces that could threaten the matriarchs: creepers, zombies, rigors. Everything that feed on the lifeforce of spirits had been vanquished. With every demonic force taken care of, there should be nothing to get in the way of Chris's wiccanning. Now if only she could figure out why she kept falling through the floor.

Piper began looking through the book, searching for a clue to her mysterious problem. Her mind focused on the book, she didn't see the demons shimmer into the attic.

* * *

Phoebe was dining room, working on her column and listening for baby Chris on the baby monitor. She had wanted to work in her bedroom, but Piper had guessed that she just wanted to be able to peak in on the baby. He was so adorable. Of course, he'd been a good looking grown-up too: Leo's eyes, Piper's coloring, and a combination of their features. It should have been obvious from the start that he was there son, but it hadn't been. It hurt to think about adult Chris. "God, I hope he made it home." Phoebe thought out loud. It had been one of the hardest things she'd ever had to do – keeping the truth from Piper. "Okay, I gotta get back to work or Elise will never let me work from home again."

"Dear Phoebe, the other day I came home and found my husband wearing my…" Phoebe read the letter aloud, but was interrupted by the sound of a crash and then Chris's cries coming through the baby monitor. Phoebe jumped up from the table and dashed up the stairs. A quick check in the nursery showed that nothing was amiss there. Chris had woken up and was crying, but seemed fine. After checking to make sure that Paige's demonic alarm system was in place in the nursery, Phoebe dashed up the stairs towards the attic.

* * *

Up in the attic, Piper ducked behind a sofa with a big burn mark on the one of the cushions. "Maybe I can cover that burn mark with a blanket" she thought as she waved her hands at one of the demons, blowing him up. "Three down, three to go." She thought.

Piper ducked behind the sofa again as one of the demons powered up a fireball and threw it at her. From her hiding place she heard Phoebe come into the attic calling "Piper!"

One of the demons grabbed Phoebe by the arm, pulling her all of the way into the attic. Piper stood up just as an athame appeared in the demon's hand. Phoebe punched the demon in the face, and then grabbed the athame out of his hand and stabbed in with his own weapon. The demon perished in a fiery blaze.

Piper through out her hands and blew up one of the two remaining demons. The other fired up another fireball and threw it at the newly exposed Piper before she or Phoebe could react. Piper threw up her hands to freeze the fireball, but nothing happened. As she saw the fireball coming towards her, Piper remembered how Chris had told her father that she died when he was young. It wasn't supposed to be yet, though. "I was supposed to have more time" Piper thought, just as the fireball reached her.

But instead of incinerating her, the fireball flew through Piper and hit the wall, leaving a blackened scorch mark.

Phoebe stabbed the last demon with the athame, vanquishing him.

"Oh my God, Piper. What just happened?" Phoebe cried out, rushing over to her sister.

"I don't know." Piper confessed, confused.

"You don't think this could be a new power, do you?" Phoebe asked.

Piper was shocked. "No. No, it couldn't be. Could it?"

_TBC…_


	4. Chapter 4

**THE BEST LAID PLANS**

**

* * *

**

**Spoilers**: Contains spoilers for It's a Bad Bad Bad Bad World (Season 6 finale).

_Chapter 4_

"Phoebe could be right, Piper. You could be developing a new power. Or rather, an advancement of your current power." Leo said, having come back to the Manor with Wyatt only to find an ex-wife who was more upset than when he left. Wyatt was quietly playing with his toys, while Chris was asleep upstairs.

"What do you mean?" Piper asked.

"Your power to freeze and blow things up is really molecular manipulation. Slowing down or speeding up molecules. So, it appears that you can now manipulate your own molecular structure, as well as anything you're touching, so that you can pass through solid objects." Leo explained.

"Or pass through you," Phoebe added, "like that fireball."

"But why now? Why today? Couldn't they have waited until after the wiccanning?" Piper whined.

"I can't ask them anymore, but I'd guess that they think you're ready for more powers. Or that they think you'll need this power." Leo said, reaching out to grasp Piper's hand. "You can handle this. You were able to control your ability to blow things up, and you can control this."

"Yeah, Piper. And this sounds like a cool power." Phoebe interjected. "You're becoming one kick-ass witch."

"But if this is one of my powers, Chris must have known. Why wouldn't he tell me about it?" Piper asked.

"Future consequences." Phoebe and Leo answered together.

"Or maybe he didn't know. Maybe they're jacking up your powers because I lost mine." Phoebe added.

"Whatever. I have to finish cleaning the attic. It will be time to call Grams soon." Piper goes back upstairs to finish cleaning the attic. But she stops to check in on her youngest son. He was sleeping peacefully. She watched him sleep for a few minutes. He was such a beautiful baby. And he would grow up to be a handsome and brave young man. But this time, he would have a happier life. She would make sure of it.

* * *

The attic was finally straightened up enough to suit Piper. Paige had come home from work. The sisters and Leo were in the attic with the boys.

A circle of candles was arranged on the floor. Standing outside the circle, Piper recited the spell she knew by heart:

"Hear these words, hear my cry,

Spirit from the other side.

Come to me, I summon thee,

Cross now the great divide."

Inside the circle of candles, Grams and Patty appear in a swirl of golden lights. They step outside of the circle and solidify.

"Mom! You came too? That's great." Piper exclaimed, hugging her mother tightly. Phoebe and Paige both moved in for their hugs.

"I couldn't stay away. I let Mom handle Wyatt's wiccaning, but this time its my turn." Patty said, smiling broadly. "Speaking of which, where are my grandchildren?"

Leo was holding Wyatt's hand and carrying Chris. Patty walked over and looked at the baby and exclaimed "Beautiful." Then she knelt down by Wyatt. "Hello, Wyatt. I'm your Grandma."

"Well, don't I get any hugs?" Grams asked, pretending to be annoyed. The sisters hug their grandmother. Hugs dispensed with, Grams moved to take a closer look at the new baby.

"Don't get upset this time, Grams. But the new baby's also a boy. We've named him Chris. Christopher Perry Halliwell." Piper said, a little anxiously. Grams had finally accepted Wyatt, but a second boy?

Grams seemed more confused than annoyed, though. "You named the baby after your whitelighter?"

"Uh, not exactly." Piper stalled, looking at Leo.

"Chris, the whitelighter you met, he's our son." Leo said, refusing the hide the truth. Well, that part of the truth, anyway.

"Yeah, he came back in time to save his family." Piper added.

"That young man is your son? Why didn't anyone tell me that? I wouldn't have been so mean to him if I'd known he was family. I'm only mean to strangers, or husbands." Grams laughed, taking the baby from Leo and kissing his chubby cheek.

Laughing, Phoebe jumped in "We didn't know at the time, Grams."

"Well, where is he? I should apologize." Grams asked, cuddling baby Chris.

"I'd love to meet him too." Patty added, holding Wyatt.

"He returned to the future. A better one." Piper said.

"Yeah, yeah. That's what happened." Phoebe stuttered, nervously. Paige elbowed Phoebe, while Leo sent her a dirty look. Grams looked on knowingly.

"Well, lets go downstairs and check everything you've done to prepare for the wiccanning." Grams said, taking Chris out of the attic and downstairs. The others quickly followed.

"Sometimes its better just to humor your great Grandmother, Wyatt." Patty whispered to her grandson as she carried him downstairs.

"Looks like you won't have to worry about not being able to touch the boys, Piper. Mom and Grams aren't going to let go of them anytime soon." Paige laughed, as she followed her sisters out of the attic.

* * *

After making sure that every demonic force that could harm the matriarchs had been eliminated, Grams dismissed the family to go do what they wanted until it was time for the wiccanning. Patty, Piper and Leo were in the conservatory playing with the boys. Grams cornered Paige and Phoebe in the kitchen.

"Alright, Phoebe. What is going on?" Grams demanded to know.

"I… I don't know what you mean, Grams. Nothing is going on." Phoebe said nervously, looking at Paige.

"Don't give me that. I have known you your entire life Phoebe Halliwell. I can tell when you aren't telling me the truth. What are you hiding?" Grams pressed.

With a rueful shake of her head, Phoebe reluctantly began "Well, I didn't want to tell you this, but…"

"Phoebe!" Paige interjected, trying to stop her sister from spilling yet another secret.

"She'll find out sooner or later. Grams, I was caught abusing my powers so the tribunal stripped them." Phoebe confessed. It was better to confess that than the other secret she'd been holding in.

"Phoebe! All of your powers?" Grams asked, shocked.

"No, I can still make potions and cast spells. But my active powers are gone." Phoebe said, hanging her head in shame. She hated disappointing Grams. She'd already spent years disappointing her and hated to add to it.

"What were you thinking?" Grams asked.

Phoebe tried to explain to her grandmother, but couldn't find the words. She knew that she had messed up big time and deserved what she had gotten. But she didn't know how to explain to her grandmother that she was actually enjoying not having her active powers. That she was enjoying the break from the pain of the premonitions, the weight of feeling other's emotions. She did miss the levitation, though.

* * *

Finally Grams gave up on getting an explanation from Phoebe and went to find her great grandsons. She'd hoped for a girl, but wasn't going to let Piper know that. Her grandson obviously grew up to be a fine young man. And Grams wanted to get to know him and Wyatt. As Grams walked out of the kitchen, she heard someone knock at the door. She saw Piper come out of the conservatory and answer the door.

Piper opened the door and was surprised to see Darryl standing there. He hadn't spoken with them since he'd cut off all contact after he'd nearly been executed. She knew that he'd tried to arrest Chris, but Leo said that they'd already returned Chris to his own time when that happened.

"Darryl, what are you doing here?" Piper asked. She saw Grams walk up to the door. Darryl saw her too. "Darryl, this is my grandmother, Penny Halliwell. Grams, this is Inspector Darryl Morris."

"Uh, I thought your grandmother was dead, Piper." Darryl asked, confused.

"She is." Piper said.

Darryl shuddered. "Don't explain. I don't want to know. I just stopped by to tell you that the investigation into Chris's jail break has been officially closed." Darryl turned to leave, but stopped. Looking sad he added "Oh, and Piper. I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am about Chris."

"What do you mean? What about Chris?" Piper asked, confused.

"Losing a child can't be easy." Darryl said sadly. "I would have said something earlier, but…"

"Losing a child? What… What are you talking about? You mean how Chris went back to his own time?" Piper asked, more confused than ever.

"You mean he survived? I guess Leo was able to save him. Good for him. Good bye, Piper. I'm sorry that I can't help you anymore, but I won't risk my family." Darryl said, then he turned and left the manor.

Piper shut the door and screamed "Leo!"

"Now, Piper. Take a deep breath and calm down." Grams said, realizing what Leo, Paige and Phoebe must be keeping a secret from Piper.

"Don't you tell me to calm down. Did you know about this?" Piper demanded.

"Piper, I just got here. And we don't know the whole story. Maybe Leo was able to save Chris and send him back to his own time." Grams implored.

Piper wasn't having any of it. "Well, I know one person who can tell us the truth. LEO!"

_TBC…_


	5. Chapter 5

**THE BEST LAID PLANS**

**

* * *

**

**Spoilers:** Contains spoilers for It's a Bad Bad Bad Bad World (Season 6 finale).

**Author's Note:** Contains discussion of character's death.

_Chapter 5_

"Piper? What's the matter?" Leo asked as he ran into the foyer after hearing Piper scream his name. Patty followed, but stayed in the doorway so that she could see the boys. Phoebe and Paige came running in from the kitchen.

"Darryl was just here." Piper said in a deadly calm voice.

"Darryl?" asked Leo, confused. Why would Piper scream about Darryl? He'd thought it was a demon or that she'd fallen through something and gotten stuck again. Phoebe and Paige looked at each other, equally confused.

"Yes. He wanted to give me his condolences on the DEATH OF MY SON!" Piper said, each word louder than the last.

"Oh God." Leo thought, wondering what to say. He'd been dreading this moment since the baby had been born. Piper deserved to know the truth, he just hadn't known how to tell her. When she'd been in the hospital recovering from the C-Section and bonding with the baby, she'd asked about Chris, assumed that he'd gone home and that's why he wasn't there. And Leo had let her believe it. Had encouraged Phoebe and Paige to let their sister believe that her son had gone home. He'd put off telling Piper the truth, telling himself that he'd tell her the truth when she came home. Then she had come home and he'd put it off again, saying that she was still recovering from the birth and the stress of Wyatt's kidnapping. Then weeks had gone by, and it seemed that the moment to tell her had past. The more time that went on, the harder it had become to confess.

"I'm sorry, Piper" was all that Leo could say.

"You're sorry? Sorry about WHAT, Leo?" Piper asked, her voice tearing up. "Lying to me? Letting me think my son went home safely? When he was… was…"

Realizing that they need to be alone, Grams shooed Phoebe and Paige back to the kitchen and then followed Patty to the conservatory where the boys were and shut the door.

"You were so happy about the baby and saving Wyatt, I didn't know how to tell you that… that Chris died." Leo tried to explain.

"My son died?" Piper cried out, sliding down to the ground. Leo caught her and sank to the ground with her, holding her tightly. He held her tightly, rocking her and trying to comfort her.

"How… how did he… how…" Piper couldn't finish the sentence.

"He was protecting Wyatt. Gideon killed him." Leo growled, still consumed with rage at the thought of an Elder thinking that murdering a child and anyone who stood in his way, was for the greater good.

"Gideon?" Piper asked. Her brain wouldn't function. She couldn't wrap her brain around the idea that her son hadn't gone home to his bright and beautiful future. That instead he'd died trying to protect his brother.

"Yeah. You were at the hospital, so were Paige and Phoebe. I was looking for Gideon and Chris was… was watching Wyatt." The words that he'd kept bottled inside for the past two months came pouring out. "I heard him cry out for me. He was in pain. I orbed in and found him lying on the attic floor, stabbed. Even then he was more concerned about Wyatt than himself. I saw Gideon orb out with Wyatt, but I couldn't stop him. And I couldn't follow and leave Chris alone. I tried to heal him, I just… I couldn't. Gideon did something, I don't know... the wound wouldn't heal. Chris told me to leave him, to go after Gideon. I didn't want to, but… Gideon was the only one who could heal Chris. I got Paige to watch Chris while I went looking for Gideon. I couldn't find him. I came back and Darryl was here. And Chris… he told me not to give up and he… he just died."

Piper was sobbing in Leo's arms. "Where is he? I mean, where's…" Piper couldn't continue.

"He just faded away. Like he was never here." Leo said.

"Faded away? Well then maybe he went home after all." Piper asked hopefully.

"No, honey. He's gone." Leo said. "I promised him that I would send him home and instead I let him die."

"Gideon was the one responsible. Why did you have to kill him? I want to tear his heart out." Piper growled.

"I had to. Not because he kidnapped Wyatt and tried to kill him. Not because he screwed up the balance between the worlds and only an evil act would fix things. Even after all of that, I probably would have turned him over to the other Elders for punishment. No, I killed him because of what he did to Chris." Leo confessed.

"I can't believe our son is dead. I mean, he's here, little Chris is here." Piper cried. "Oh God. My baby. Is he going to meet the same fate? Is he destined to die so young? I can't bear it"

"No, Piper. That brave young man that risked everything to save his brother, to save his family is gone. His memories are gone, his experiences. The baby will grow up to look like Chris, but he won't be him. He'll be a new person, one whose father didn't leave him, whose brother wasn't evil and conquered the world, whose mother didn't die and leave him alone. He'll be a new Chris. This Chris will have the better future that the other one wanted so badly, I'll make sure of it."

Leo and Piper remained sitting on the floor, each clinging to the other for comfort.

* * *

Crying quietly, Grams opened the conservatory door and looked into the foyer at Piper and Leo huddled on the floor. She and Patty had heard most of the conversation from the conservatory. Things had been quiet for sometime. Wiping her eyes, she motioned to Patty and they picked up the boys and brought them into the foyer.

"Piper, honey. Believe me, I know what it is like to lose a child. There are no words that I can say that will help. All I can say is that I'm sorry. I didn't know Chris well, but he seemed like a brave, intelligent and dedicated young man." Grams said quietly.

Piper wanted to hold her sons tightly, but she was afraid. "Go ahead." Leo whispered encouragingly. "It will be alright."

Grams and Patty thought that Piper's hesitation had to do with her feelings about Chris's death, not knowing about Piper's developing powers. But Piper decided to take a chance. She had to hold them, to know that they were alright. She took Wyatt first, holding him close. She reached out her other hand to stroke her baby's downy hair.

They were all startled when someone knocked at the door.

"Oh God, now what?" Piper cried, unable to deal with anything else.

Leo opened the door. "Victor!"

"Leo, hi." Victor Bennett walked into the house and saw Penny and Patty. "I guess we're all here for the wican… thing for Chris."

"Oh my God, I forgot." Piper said, kicking herself.

"Is everything alright?" Victor asked. Things had a way of going wrong quickly in this house. It seemed like every time he visited demons attacked.

Phoebe and Paige came in from the kitchen having heard someone knocking.

"Daddy!" Phoebe called, going to hug her father. She glanced nervously at Grams, knowing the older woman didn't like Victor at all; she blamed him for leaving Patty, despite the fact that she'd been partially responsible for the breakup.

"So, this is baby Chris, huh?" Victor asked, looking at the baby. "He's beautiful, Piper. Of course, we already know that he's going to grow up into a handsome young man."

"I can't do this." Piper said, handing Wyatt to Leo and running upstairs.

"Uh…" Leo said before handing Wyatt to Paige and running up the stairs after Piper.

"What did I say?" Victor asked, concerned about his daughter's odd behavior.

Grams, Patty, Phoebe and Paige shared a look. "Come into the living room, Daddy, and I'll explain." Phoebe said, leading her father away. The other women follow, bringing the boys.

* * *

Up in Piper's bedroom, she threw herself down on her bed crying. Leo entered the room after her, but was hesitant to approach her. Not only was this the room where Chris died, but he'd long ago given up and right to be close with Piper in this room. For two months he'd visited his sons but stayed away from Piper. After two months of the Elders arguing about his killing Gideon he wasn't one of them anymore, wasn't even a whitelighter, he didn't know what to do. He wanted to try again with Piper, but he'd hurt her so badly. He'd failed his son and didn't know if he deserved another chance. Then again, it had been one of the last things his son had asked of him – to have his family back together.

"Piper…" he said, kneeling beside the bed and stroking her hair.

"How can I do this? How can I have a wiccanning for baby Chris when I know that…" Piper cried.

"Because, he deserves to be welcomed into this family, into this world, with love and grace. You said so yourself. That hasn't changed, honey." Leo said, continuing to stroke her hair.

_TBC…_


	6. Chapter 6

**THE BEST LAID PLANS**

* * *

_Chapter 6_

Paige finally finished explaining to Victor how Chris had died. Victor sat on the sofa in shock. He'd been back in his daughters' lives for six years, and Chris had been the first one to make him feel completely accepted, like a real member of the family. Chris had given him hope that he would be able to redeem himself for all the years of his daughters' lives that he'd missed. He'd hated hearing that Piper had died young, just like Prue. He couldn't bear the thought of burying another child. That was a pain no parent should go through. And to think that now Chris was gone and Piper having to go through that burden. Except that there was no Chris to bury and a baby version of him still around.

Sitting next to Victor, Patty was feeling the same. She was holding Chris in her arms. She had never met the grown-up Chris, but she still felt the loss of a family member. And he hadn't appeared on the other side, not that she knew of. Then again, his soul inhabited the baby.

Grams, standing nearby, was saddened too. She and Patty had heard most of Leo's admission to Piper, but hearing it again it was still painful. She'd been rather rude to the young Whitelighter when they had met before. She wished she'd had another chance with him. Once his mission to save Wyatt had been accomplished, and the timeline irrevocably changed, he must have faded away. And she would have a second chance with the baby. It seemed as though she was always getting second chances with her great grandsons.

* * *

Upstairs, Leo continued to stroke Piper's hair and back, trying to comfort her. "It will be okay, Piper." He whispered.

"I wish I could just disappear." Piper said. No sooner had she said the words than she sunk through the mattress. For Leo it was a chilling reminder of when Chris's body had disappeared. For a second he thought that Piper had disappeared like their son. Then he realized what must have happened and ran out of the room.

* * *

The others were sitting or standing around the living room. Patty was holding Chris, cooing at her new grandson. Every so often Victor would reach out to stroke Chris's hair. Wyatt sat nearby playing with his toys, shooting his brother a dirty look every now and then. Grams was playing with Wyatt, telekinetically moving his toys around.

The quiet in the room was shattered as a body fell through the ceiling right above where Phoebe was standing. Phoebe looked up in horror and met Piper's eyes, just before Piper fell through Phoebe and then the living room floor. Phoebe looked over at Paige, shocked.

"What the hell was that?!?" Victor yelled, standing up. "Was that Piper?"

"Well, you don't see that everyday." Grams said dryly.

Paige and Phoebe turned and ran towards the kitchen and the basement door. They collide at the door, butting heads. Leo came running down the stairs and headed for the kitchen as well, reaching it before the stunned sisters.

* * *

Down in the basement, Piper was torn between crying, laughing and screaming. So she settled for blowing up some old furniture stored down there. She liked having a close relationship with her sisters, but that had been too close for comfort. When she fell through the mattress and then the bedroom floor, she'd thought about solidifying. Assuming she could do it at command, that is. But she'd seen Phoebe and hadn't done it. Instead she'd hoped that she would fall through Phoebe so that she wouldn't hurt her. Blowing up one last bit of furniture, Piper headed back upstairs to check on Phoebe.

She met Leo and her sisters in the kitchen. Phoebe looked fine, so apparently falling through someone didn't hurt them. Well, that was good to know. Leo swept her up in a big hug. She sank in his embrace for a moment, enjoying the feel. She missed this, the easy intimacy she and Leo had shared. With Leo around almost every day for the last two months, visiting the boys, it had been almost like they were married. But still, she had known that his calling was to be an Elder. He'd been angry with them about Gideon, but she'd attributed that to Wyatt. She hadn't known about Chris. About Chris dying in Leo's arms. Now he wasn't an Elder anymore. Wasn't even a Whitelighter. What would become of him now? What would become of them? Piper pushed the thoughts ruthlessly out of her mind. She wouldn't… couldn't think of them right now. She had to concentrate of Chris, both of them. The baby needed to be welcomed into the family. And the grown-up needed to be mourned.

The foursome headed back to the living room, where Patty and Victor were shocked and Grams was amused.

"What just happened?" Victor asked.

"I wish I knew." Piper answered. "That's been happening all day."

"We think her powers are advancing." Leo added, helping Piper over to a chair.

"Of course they're advancing, Leo." Grams said smiling. "My Great Aunt Pauline could do the same thing."

"Well, how did she control it?" Piper demanded to know.

"I have no idea." Grams admitted. "Besides, triggers differ from person to person."

"I always hoped I would develop that power." Patty admitted. "Would have come in handy a time or two."

"Once I learn how to control it, maybe. Until then I can't even touch my kids." Piper said, frustrated.

"You'll learn how to control it." Leo said encouragingly.

"Yeah, and you didn't hurt Phoebe when you fell through her." Paige said. Then, turning to look at Phoebe "Did she?"

"No, I didn't feel a thing. You won't hurt the boys, Piper. I know it." Phoebe said.

Piper stood up and walked over to her mother, intending to pick up Chris. Seeing Wyatt's unhappy look, Piper changed her mind and walked over to her oldest son and gave him a big hug. He happily returned the embrace.

"We need to decide whether or not we're going to have this wiccanning." Paige said. "With everything going on…"

"Well, of course we're going to have the wiccanning." Grams said. "Right, Piper?"

"Right, Grams. My son deserves a wiccanning and he's going to get one." Piper said firmly, holding Wyatt.

Leo picked up his youngest son, cuddling him close. "Did you hear that? Looks like your going to be welcomed into this family after all. Christopher Victor Halliwell."

"Victor?" chimed in Penny and Victor, both surprised.

TBC…


	7. Chapter 7

**THE BEST LAID PLANS**

* * *

_Chapter 7_

"Victor? I thought his middle name would have been Perry, a 'P' name." Grams said, not happy with this turn of events.

"I don't know how he ended up with Perry as a middle name the first time, if he did. He never would explain. But the name Christopher is for Leo's father and after finding out from him what an "awesome Grandpa" that Dad is going to be, and how Dad's the one responsible for getting his "surly new grandson" to speak to me, I thought that his middle name should be Victor." Piper explained firmly.

"Thank you, honey. I'm honored." Victor said, trying not to tear up.

"Haruumph" Grams snorted, but quickly turned away at Piper's angry glare. "I'm just saying, it's not a 'P' name. Family tradition."

"That's only been the tradition for a few generations, Mother. Piper is free to name her son whatever she wants. I like the name." Patty interjected, hoping to head off a fight.

"Okay, let's get this show on the road. Time's a wasting." Phoebe chimed in, looking at her watch.

"We keeping you from something, Phoebe?" Piper asked sarcastically.

"Well, actually I do have a date tonight." Phoebe said sheepishly. At her sisters' annoyed looks, "What? I got a little sidetracked by the whole Wyatt thing, but I seriously am running out of time here people."

"Do I want to know what's going on here?" Victor asked, confused.

"No, you don't. Trust me." Paige said, patting him on the arm.

"Alright, lets go bless the baby." Piper said.

"Mind if I carry my sort of name-sake?" Victor asked Leo, who was cuddling baby Chris.

"Sure, Grandpa." Leo said, smiling, handing the baby over to Victor. Leo and Victor had never been overly fond of each other. Victor hated whitelighters, blaming Patty's whitelighter Sam for breaking up his marriage. And Leo was well aware of the pain that Victor's leaving had caused his daughters. The same pain Leo had apparently caused Chris in another time line. That gave him something in common with Victor, which Leo wasn't entirely comfortable with.

Leaving Chris with Victor, Leo walked over to Piper and Wyatt. He took Wyatt out of Piper's arms and playfully tossed him up in the air. Piper and Leo, with a giggling Wyatt, walked out of the living room into the foyer, followed by Phoebe, Paige, Patty and Grams. Victor and Chris brought up the rear.

Before Victor could carry Chris out of the living room, a trio of demons shimmered into the room. The same type of demon that had attacked Piper in the attic earlier.

Seeing Victor and Chris, a demon tosses a fireball in their direction. Grams, the last one out of the room, hears the explosion and turns around. Seeing the demons, she holds up her hands and telekinetically flings the closest demon into a wall, then the ceiling, before dropping him back down on the floor. The others turn and see the demons as well. They run back into the room. Piper blows up one of the two remaining demons.

The third demon goes to throw a fireball at the witches, but Paige calls out "fireball" and when the fireball orbs into her hand she tosses it back towards the demon, incinerating him. The third demon, the one Grams has been battering, shimmers out.

"Dad? Chris?" Piper asked, panicking as she looks around and doesn't seem them, just a scorch mark. "Leo, where are they?"

"I don't know." Leo says, concerned. 'Not again, he thought. I'm not losing him again.'

* * *

Upstairs in Piper's bedroom, Victor felt the need to sit down. First a demon had attacked and then his infant grandson had orbed him up here to safety.

"Good going, Chris." Victor said, kissing his grandson's head. "But, I will never get used to orbing, no matter what the other you said."

* * *

"What do you mean you don't know? Where's my baby?" Piper demanded, terrified.

"Piper, sweetheart…" Grams hesitantly started to speak.

"Here we are." Victor called out, coming down the stairs carrying Chris.

"Oh, thank God." Piper cried out, and ran over to her father and youngest son. She took Chris out of her father's arms and cuddled him close.

"Victor, what happened?" Leo said.

"How did you get upstairs?" Patty asked.

"It was Chris. He orbed us out just before the fireball would have hit us." Victor explained.

"Way to go, buddy. Way to use your powers." Said the proud father. "Your brother orbed." Leo said to Wyatt. Wyatt gave him a 'big deal' look and glared at the baby his mother was holding.

"Yeah, Chris!" Paige chimed in.

"Definitely a Halliwell." Was Grams' contribution.

"Such a smart boy. But then, we already knew that." Phoebe said, reaching out to pinch his cheeks.

"I can't believe those demons attacked again." Piper said.

"Again? It's happened before?" Patty asked.

"Yeah, earlier today." Phoebe said.

"Demons are attacking the manor and you didn't mention it? We can't call the matriarchs for the wiccanning until this is straightened out." Grams said.

"The matriarchs are probably fine, Grams. But were they after Chris this time? They threw the fireball at him." Paige said.

"I thought we dealt with that already. How many times do we have to teach those demons that they can't mess with our kids… sorry, Piper, your kids and get away with it." Phoebe added.

"So what do we do?" Victor asked.

"We?" Grams asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe I can't fight demons like all of you, but he's is my grandson." Victor said angrily.

"We need to figure out who's doing this and stop them." Patty added, coming between her mother and Victor.

"I'll check the Book of Shadows, see if we can figure out who these demons are. See if there's a spell or a vanquishing potion." Paige said. Grams and Patty went with her to the attic to check.

"No one goes after my kids and gets away with it." Piper said angrily. Chris, sensing his mother's anger, started fussing. Piper rocked him and soothed him with her voice.

"Hey, looks like you're not afraid anymore." Leo said, watching Piper cuddle Chris.

"I'm too angry to be afraid." Piper admitted. "I lost one child. I'm not losing another."

_TBC…_


	8. Chapter 8

**THE BEST LAID PLANS**

* * *

_Chapter 8_

Up in the attic, the sisters gathered together some of their all-purpose potions. Some were for vanquishing and some were diversionary, like smoke bombs. Then again, with an angry Piper accompanying them, they didn't really need much else in the way of fire power, Phoebe figured.

Grams fidgeted nearby. "I really wish you would let me come with you girls. You don't know what you'll be up against."

"Grams, I need you and Mom to stay here in case those demons come back." Piper explained.

"Leo is here. He can orb them out if there's a problem. You'll need us more." Grams insisted.

"That won't work, Grams." Leo dreaded explaining. Telling Grams the truth was like telling your mother you'd flunked out of college after she'd worked nights to put you there. "The Elders clipped my wings."

"What? Why on Earth would they do that?" Grams asked, shocked.

"Because after Gideon killed Chris, I tracked him down to rescue Wyatt. Then I killed Gideon." Leo admitted. "He murdered my son."

"Good. I'd hate to think that awful man was still around, just waiting to come after our boys again." Grams said firmly, fully supporting her grandson-in-law.

"The other elders didn't see it that way. They've clipped my wings. I can't orb. I can't heal. I'm mortal again." Leo admitted. "If the demons return, I'd do everything in my power to save the boys, but…"

"But you have no powers. Well, I guess there's no help for it. Patty and I will have to stay here to watch over the boys while you go off and show the demons what happens when they come after Halliwell children." Grams said.

"Damn straight." Paige said, and orbed Phoebe and Piper out and down to the underworld.

* * *

Down in the Piper's room, Patty set aside the now-empty bottle and took baby Chris into the nursery to change him. Victor and Wyatt sat on the floor, playing with toy cars.

After she put Chris down for a nap, Patty saw Paige's crystal alarm system and set it up around the crib. Then she quietly walked out of the nursery and gestured for Victor to take Wyatt out of the room so that Chris could get some sleep. Victor took Wyatt's hand and the two of them walked down the hall to Wyatt's bedroom, with Patty following, carrying a baby monitor.

Once in his room, Wyatt started showing his grandfather all of his toys. As Victor "oohed" and "aahed" over the assortment of toddler toys, Patty sat down in the rocking chair.

"It's so familiar, isn't it?" Patty asked her ex-husband.

"What?" Victor asked, distracted by Wyatt.

"Taking care of magical children." Patty explained.

"It isn't easy. They require a lot more care than normal children. There are so many dangers. Even ice cream trucks aren't safe." Victor recalled, remembering the day he'd nearly lost Prue. His daughters' powers had often frightened him. Patty and Penny had wanted them to be raised with full knowledge of their magical heritage, but he'd wanted them to lead normal lives, free of demon attacks. It was ironic that Penny had raised them that way after he'd left.

Wyatt demanded their attention again and his grandparents were happy to provide it. Wyatt and Patty began playing a game that involved Wyatt throwing things in the air and Patty freezing them.

The three of them were startled when a piercing alarm rang out.

"Victor, stay with Wyatt." Patty called out, running out of the room.

* * *

Phoebe lead her sisters back to the demonic bar she'd trashed before Chris had been born. She was hoping that the demons had rebuilt the bar. They needed a public forum, where their message would be heard and repeated throughout the underworld. They were in luck. It was as if she'd never been there. The room was packed with demons.

"Well, well, well. Look what we found." Paige said, looking over the room.

"Apparently, you people didn't listen very well last time. So we decided to repeat the warning." Phoebe said.

"And we'll keep coming back until you get the message to stay away from MY KIDS!" Piper said, blowing up the demons sitting at the nearest table.

The demons and other underworld dwellers jumped up. Many ran for the nearest exits away from the Charmed Ones. Others stood their grounds, unafraid of the sisters.

Phoebe hurled an acid-based vanquishing potion at a grimlock, destroying him. She quickly moved on to the other demons in the room.

A darklighter conjured a cross-bow and fired an arrow at Paige. She called for the arrow and sent it flying back at him, vanquishing him.

"What do you want, witches?" cried out a demon from the back. Piper couldn't see the demon well enough to figure out what kind it was. And she really didn't care.

"Someone tried to kill my son this afternoon – twice." Piper said, blowing up a pair of demons that tried to sneak up behind her. "No one goes after my kid and expects to live."

"No one is after your children, witch. They know that it is a suicide mission. If you didn't kill us, the powers would. Your children are protected by law, you know that." The demon called out.

"Yeah, well, some of you keep forgetting that." Paige called out, calling an athame away from a warlock and stabbing him with it.

"The demons that attacked your house today were not after your child." The Demon called out.

"Really?" Piper asked sarcastically. "Then who were they after?"

"Come with me and all will be revealed." The demon said, stepping out of the shadows. Piper didn't recognize him, but he was the same kind of demon who'd gone after her baby earlier.

* * *

Patty ran towards Piper's bedroom – and the nursery. She could hear Leo and her mother coming quickly down the stairs from the attic. Entering the bedroom she could see that the nursery door was open and that three more demons stood in bedroom, looking around.

"Get away from him!" she called out, freezing the closest one.

Another of the demons threw a fireball at her, which she froze. Behind her, Leo entered the room, followed by her mother.

"Chris!" Leo called out, trying to run to his son. One of the demons threw him into the wall before he could reach the nursery.

Grams telekinetically picked up one of the demons and began tossing him around the room.

"Stay away from my grandson." Patty cried out as the third demon entered the nursery and looked down at the baby. Chris, startled by the demon, started crying. An athame appeared in his hand as Patty raised her hands to freeze him. But before either Patty or the demon could react, Chris orbed out of the crib. The demon shimmered out after him.

Grams hurled the demon she'd been fighting out of Piper's bedroom window. She turned to the demon Patty had frozen, but before she could do anything, Leo took the athame out of the demon's hand and stabbed him with it, vanquishing him.

They turned to check on Chris, but saw an empty crib. "We've got to find him." Patty called out and the trio ran out of the room.

_TBC…_


	9. Chapter 9

**THE BEST LAID PLANS**

* * *

_Chapter 9_

"Are you sure it's a good idea to follow a demon around the underworld?" Phoebe asked nervously. She really didn't like to be back here. Too many bad memories.

"You have a better idea?" Piper asked. She wasn't any happier than Phoebe about following a demon around the underworld.

The demon they'd spoken with in the bar led them to a cave. There, high upon a throne, sat a human looking demon. Human except for the eyes, which were completely black.

"I am Abaddon, the mighty. Abaddon, the cruel. Abaddon, the corrupter of minds. Abbadon, the…"

"Loudmouth. What are you trying to do, talk us to death?" Paige asked, waving her hand under her nose.

"Look on me and despair." Abaddon sneered at the sisters.

"Despair of ever getting a word in edgewise, maybe." Piper added.

"Silence, foolish witch!" Abaddon cried out.

"Hey! I've had enough of this. Why are you after my baby?!?!" Piper demanded. "I thought I had made it clear to all of you that no one was to go after my children."

"I don't want your baby. I want the betrayer." Abaddon declared, getting angrier by the minute. Who were these witches to come here and question him in his own lair?. The sisters looked at each other, confused. Then looked blankly back at Abaddon. "The one who walked among us, pretending to be a friend, before killing as many as he could." He growled.

"Still don't know who you're talking about there, bub." Paige said.

"The witch that pretended to be a demon and then orbed out of here after killing many of my brethren." Abaddon explained. "One of my brethren wounded him. We used the blood to track him to your house. I know you're hiding him."

"Uh oh. They're looking for big Chris and they keep finding little Chris." Phoebe explained unnecessarily because Piper and Paige had already reached the same conclusion.

"You will return the betrayer or there will never be peace again." Abaddon shouted. More and more of his brethren demons came into the cave and surrounded him… and them.

* * *

Baby Chris was afraid. His room, which he normally associated with safety was foul of beings that scared him, though he didn't know why. His father was also in the room, but wasn't close enough to comfort him. The two new women in the house, who reminded him of his mother were also there, but not close enough. And to make matters worse, the person he wanted most, his mother, he couldn't sense at all. Which scared him even more. She was always there, a constant comforting presence. He couldn't stay there, but wasn't sure where to go. He sensed two other presences, though. One was newer, but seemed safe, and the other was familiar. He orbed himself to them.

* * *

Victor knelt on the floor next to Wyatt. Neither one was playing with the toys; both were wondering what was happening in the other room. All of a sudden, a crying baby Chris orbed in next to Wyatt.

Wyatt looked down at the little intruder. The one who had come along and stolen everyone's attention. Before everyone had paid attention to him, but now? He didn't feel anything bad from the baby. The baby felt good, like his parents. But that didn't make Wyatt like him any better. The baby was loud and woke him up at night sometimes. His parents gave some of his things to the new baby and the baby took his things sometimes. And his parents would praise the baby for using his powers instead of making him give the things back.

A demon shimmered into the room after the baby. "Where is the betrayer?" he asked, looking around and seeing only an older mortal man and two children.

Victor stood up and planted himself between the demon and his grandsons. "Get away from them." He shouted.

The demon felt bad, Wyatt thought. Looking down at his younger brother he realized that the baby didn't have a shield to protect himself. He was crying. He was probably afraid and come to Wyatt looking for help. '_He needs me_' Wyatt thought. Wyatt raised the shield around himself and the baby. His grandfather was too far away for him to protect – and too close to the demon.

The demon pushed Victor out of the way. But Victor had been expecting that and punched the demon in the face. Sure he didn't know magic, but there were other ways to fight.

Patty ran into the room, followed by Grams and Leo. They had heard Victor's shout and come running. They all entered the room and saw Victor pummeling the third demon. Patty quickly froze the demon, which didn't stop Victor from getting another punch, or two, in. Victor took the athame out of the demon's hand and stabbed him with it, vanquishing him.

Leo's only thoughts were for his sons. He saw Wyatt's protective forcefield was in place around him and Chris. Wyatt dropped the forcefield when he saw his father. Leo quickly picked up Chris and cuddled him close. Turning to Wyatt, he gave him a one-armed hug and said "Way to go, Wyatt. You protected your little brother from the bad demon. I am so proud of you."

Wyatt basked in his father's approval.

* * *

"Look, the man you want is dead." Piper said, sadly. "He died two months ago."

"You lie, witch. We tracked him to your house." Abaddon snarled.

"How are we going to explain about the baby to him?" Phoebe whispered to Piper and Paige as she kept a close eye on the demons surrounding them.

"We're not. He might decide to take revenge on the baby instead." Piper said firmly.

"So what do we do?" Paige asked, as she watched the demons close in around them.

"This." Piper said as she blew up the three closest demons. Turning she blew up more.

Phoebe and Paige may have been caught off guard by their older sister's actions, but they quickly caught up and began vanquishing the demons as fast as they could. Soon the number of demons was cut in half.

"Stop!" shouted Abaddon. His demon brethren stopped what they were doing. Piper blew up a couple more, just because they were there.

Things were just not going well for Abaddon. It had taken him two months to rebuild the number of brethren after the betrayer had decimated his ranks. And now these witches had killed more than half of them. Why was nothing ever easy when dealing with witches? Abaddon stood up and conjured a fireball.

Piper saw Abaddon with a fireball and threw out her hands to blow him up, but nothing happened to him. She tried to freeze him, but that didn't work either. Abaddon was wearing an amulet that protected him from magic.

Abaddon threw the fireball at Piper. She felt herself go light again and the fireball passed through her, vanquishing the demon standing behind her.

Paige, saw the situation deteriorating fast and grabbed Phoebe and Piper to orb them out of there. Paige and Phoebe orbed out. But Piper, who wasn't solid at the time, didn't go with them. Piper looked around and saw that her sisters were gone and she was alone with the demons, unable to orb out.

"Oh, crap." She said as they closed in around her.

_TBC…_


	10. Chapter 10

**THE BEST LAID PLANS**

* * *

_Chapter 10_

Piper looked around. Her sisters had left without her. Apparently she couldn't orb when she wasn't solid. She flung out her hands to blow up the closest group of demons, but nothing happened. _'So my powers don't work when I'm not solid.'_ she thought. _'Then again, they can't hurt me unless I'm solid.'_ she thought as another fireball went flying through her, vanquishing a demon behind her. Piper considered using her new power to simply walk right out of the cave, but she figured that Paige would come back for her as soon as she realized that Piper wasn't with them.

The demons quickly figured out that they didn't want to be standing behind Piper whenever Abaddon threw a fireball and they tried to get out of the way. Several of them tried to grab hold of the witch, but their hands went right through her.

"Enough!" Abaddon cried, tired of vanquishing his own demons.

* * *

Paige and Phoebe orbed into the attic.

"Where's Piper?" Phoebe cried out.

"Oh my God. We must have left her." Paige said, afraid for Piper.

"Well, let's go get her!" Phoebe yelled, grabbing hold of her sister. The pair orbed back out to find Piper.

* * *

In Wyatt's bedroom, Leo hugged both of his sons. Patty was fussing over Victor, who insisted he was fine.

"You're okay. Thank you, Wyatt. You are a great big brother." Leo said, kissing the top of Wyatt's head first and then the top of Chris's. "After Gideon, I was afraid that…" he started to say, but stopped himself. He would never let Wyatt know how close he'd come to turning evil.

"Afraid of what, Leo?" Grams asked, curious. She'd known that Chris had come back in time to save Wyatt from some great evil, but she didn't know the details.

* * *

Back in the underworld, Phoebe and Paige orbed in to find Piper surrounded by demons. She didn't look very upset, though.

"You okay, Piper?" Phoebe asked, throwing vanquishing potions at the demons that stood between her and Piper.

Paige and Phoebe fought their way over to Piper. Paige tried to grab Piper, but her hand passed through her sister.

"Yeah, I can't seem to turn solid again." Piper admitted.

"Can you get rid of some of these demons?" Phoebe asked as she coldcocked a demon who had gotten a little too close for comfort.

"Nope. My powers aren't working." Piper admitted. "Just like Prue's astral self didn't have active powers. I guess my powers only work when I'm solid."

"Well, get solid so we can get out of here." Paige snarked, calling an athame away from a demon and using it on the demons nearest her.

"I don't know how." Piper admitted. She didn't want to be stuck in the underworld anymore than her sisters did, but she couldn't seem to solidify.

"Enough!" Abaddon cried again, not used to being ignored. "Leave witches, while I am feeling merciful."

Piper felt the weight of her family on her shoulders. She knew her sisters would never leave without her, not on purpose. And she couldn't leave until she solidified. "Ow. Watch it." Piper said as Phoebe stepped on her foot. "Wait a minute."

"You're solid again." Paige said, stepping over to her sisters. "Let's get out of here."

Piper vanquished the demons closest to her, creating an opening between her and Abaddon. "The one you want is dead, Abaddon; whether you believe it or not. If you or your 'brethren' come near me or my family again, you won't live long enough to regret it." She turned to her sisters, "Let's get out of here."

The three sisters orbed out of the underworld and back to the manor.

* * *

The sisters reappeared in the attic. They hurried downstairs and found the others in Wyatt's bedroom. Victor and Leo looked like they'd been in a fight and Grams was standing guard.

"What happened?" Piper asked.

"Demons attacked Chris again." Grams said, letting the girls into Wyatt's bedroom.

"Chris orbed himself in here to get away from them." Patty said, hugging her daughters.

"What?" Piper exclaimed.

"And Wyatt protected him with his forcefield." Leo chimed in, still proud of his sons. "We have two very clever boys."

"Leo, what were you so afraid? Something about Gideon and Wyatt." Grams asked, still wanting to know why her grandson-in-law was so worried about Wyatt.

Leo put Wyatt down on the floor so he could play with his toys. He ushered Grams and the sisters out in the hall. Grams took Chris from Leo. Patty and Victor followed them out into the hall.

"I'm just afraid that I didn't reach Wyatt in time after Gideon kidnapped him. The first time around, during grown-up Chris's timeline, I think it was Gideon taking Wyatt from his family, keeping him down in the underworld that turned him evil. I'm still afraid that he's going to turn out evil. I'm afraid I didn't do enough." Leo admitted quietly, not wanting Wyatt to hear him. "I was happy to see him protecting Chris earlier."

"He's been acting so strange since the baby came. He's been mean to the baby, taking his things, misbehaving every time I try to feed Chris or change him." Piper added. "I had the same fear." She admitted, looking at Leo.

"Sweetie, when you were a baby Prue stuffed you in a hamper." Victor laughed.

"What?" Piper asked, shocked.

"She said you were loud and she didn't want you around anymore." Victor laughed.

"Oh, and every time we tried to feed you, or change you, or just hold you Prue would start flinging things around the room to get attention." Grams said, joining the laughter.

"Mom, do you remember the time Piper tried to give Phoebe away to the next door neighbors?" Patty asked, laughing as well.

"Oh, yes. Or how she would sit on Phoebe whenever she'd get in Piper's stuff?" Grams asked, laughing so hard she could barely get the words out.

"You did what?" Phoebe asked, pretending to be outraged.

"I was afraid she was going to squash her." Patty laughed.

Paige was laughing along with the others. This is what she'd missed out on growing up an only child. She loved her adopted parents whole-heartedly, but sometimes she wished she'd grown up with her sisters.

"So, Wyatt's okay?" Piper asked, her voice full of hope.

"He's a perfectly normal toddler, honey." Patty said. "He's just used to being the center of attention and needs to learn that he has to share your attention now. Just make sure that he knows that you love him too and he'll be fine."

"Oh, Thank God." Piper breathed, leaning heavily against Leo. He held her against his chest.

"Well, this baby isn't going to bless himself. Let's get the show on the road." Grams said, herding everyone towards the attic. She carried Chris up to the attic. Leo went back and got Wyatt out of his room.

"What about the demons?" Paige asked.

"If they dare to show their faces, we'll make them regret it." Piper said, following her grandmother and youngest son upstairs.

_TBC…_


	11. Chapter 11

**THE BEST LAID PLANS**

* * *

_Chapter 11_

Grams entered the attic carrying baby Chris, followed by her family. Grams smiled at her granddaughters and handed Chris to his grandmother, Patty.

Grams stepped forward into the attic and faced the giant window. She recited the spell she knew by heart:

"I call forth from space and time  
Matriarchs from the Halliwell line,  
Mothers, daughters, sisters, friends,  
Our family spirit without end,  
to gather now in this sacred place  
and help us bring this child to grace."

A whitish gold light flared as the spiritual forms of all of the family Matriarchs appeared wearing the clothes of their own time periods. Matriarchs young and old all stood before Grams to bless Chris, the newest member of the Halliwell family.

Patty stepped forward, holding her grandson proudly, as she addressed the Matriarchs. Her mother had led Wyatt's blessing, but this time it was her turn. "A new child has been born into our family, our legacy. We pledge to be with this child, this brave and beautiful boy, always. Apart, but never separate, free, but never alone. He is one of us and because of that, we will bless him with all the goodness that we are. Welcome to the family, Christopher Victor Halliwell. Blessed be."

"Blessed be." Grams said, leaning over to kiss her great-grandson on his cheek.

As one, the matriarchs called out "Blessed be."

Standing together, with Leo carrying Wyatt, Chris's proud parents said "Blessed be."

Next Phoebe and Paige chimed in "Blessed be."

Though he didn't understand most of his daughters' wiccan ways, Victor did understand the importance of this ceremony to them and said "Blessed be."

Another voice chimed in, "Blessed be." A familiar voice to the living people standing in the attic. Piper's breath caught in her throat as she saw a face she had never thought to see again.

"Oh my God." Piper heard Phoebe exclaim, but she couldn't do anything but stare at the person who gracefully walked from the back row of matriarchs to the front and stopped by Grams, Patty and the baby.

"Prue." Victor whispered, unable to believe that his oldest daughter was actually standing only a few feet away from him.

"He's beautiful, Piper." Prue said, as she raised a hand to stroke the baby's soft hair. But as she was still incorporeal, her hand passed through him. She smiled sadly at her sister. Prue looked at Wyatt, who was in Leo's arms watching the ghostly woman in front of him. "They're both beautiful. You've been blessed, Piper."

"I've missed you so much." Piper whispered as she stepped forward, wishing she could hug her sister.

Phoebe moved forward also, followed by a suddenly shy Paige.

"Prue." Phoebe said.

"Phoebe. I've missed you." Prue admitted.

"I've missed you too. I am so sorry…" Phoebe started.

"No, Phoebe. It was no one's fault." Prue said.

Prue looked over at her youngest sister, Paige, whom she'd never had a chance to meet in life. "Hello, Paige."

"Hello, Prue." Paige said. After all these years, Paige still felt that she didn't measure up to Prue.

"Thank you for taking such good care of my… of _our_ sisters." Prue said with a smile.

Victor stepped forward to see his daughter. "Hello, Prue."

"Hi, Dad." Prue smiled at her father. She'd spent years being angry with him. They'd had only a few months of actually getting along before she'd died.

"I'm sorry… about a lot of things." Victor said sadly.

"Don't be. I'm okay, Dad." Prue said, wishing she could hug her family.

Prue turned back to Piper. "I brought a gift for you." Prue said.

"You didn't have to bring anything, Prue. Just you coming here was gift enough." Piper said, startled.

"What did you bring, Prue?" Grams asked, startled. It wasn't like the afterlife had a shopping mall. She couldn't imagine what Prue could have brought with her.

"Not so much a what as a who. Look." Prue said, gesturing toward the back of the group of matriarchs.

The women parted to reveal the person standing in the back of the room, nearest the window.

"Chris…" Piper breathed, shocked.

"Hi Mom." Chris said as he moved forward.

Piper rushed forward to hug her son, but realized that he was incorporeal, like Prue.

Piper turned to her mother and grandmother. "Please" was all she had to say.

Grams and Patty exchanged a look. Patty nodded in silent understanding. She handed baby Chris to Phoebe and stepped towards the matriarchs. At the same time Chris stepped forward. As they passed, Patty became incorporeal and was surrounded by a soft hazy glow and Chris became solid again. Prue took her place beside her mother. Patty smiled at her daughters and grandchildren, then she, Prue and the other matriarchs faded away, leaving only Grams and Chris behind.

Piper rushed forward and hugged her son tightly. Victor took Wyatt from Leo so that he could hug his son as well. For a few moments no one said anything, they just watched the family reunion.

"How?" Paige asked when she found her voice.

Chris smiled. "Clarence, one of the angels of death, came to me when I was dying. He said that mine was a special case because I was dying outside my own timeline. He brought me to Prue and she's been watching over me, helping me adjust ever since."

"Clarence? As in _It's a Wonderful Life_?" Victor asked, confused.

"I'm okay, Mom. Dad." Chris said, wiping the tears out of his mother's eyes. He looked at his father. "You saved Wyatt. Thank you."

"I'm so sorry, Chris. I…" Leo started.

"I'm okay, really. I changed the timeline so much that I don't know if I could have gone home anyway." Chris admitted. He looked over at Paige, who was holding his baby self. "Wow. It's weird seeing myself as a baby."

As Chris stepped back from his parents, Phoebe moved in for her hug. Laughing, he embraced her.

"I have a bone to pick with you." Paige said with a smile. "You went off and died and left Abaddon the loud looking for vengeance."

"Damn, I forgot about him. He hasn't caused too much trouble, has he?" Chris asked, concerned about his family.

"Not as much as I could have." Abaddon said as her and six of his remaining demons shimmered into the already crowded attic.

The sisters, Chris, Grams, Leo and Victor turned to look at the intruders. The sisters stepped in front of Chris, blocking him from Abaddon's view.

Abaddon called out "Give me the betrayer and I will let you live." He was disconcerted when the sisters started laughing. People did not laugh at Abaddon and live to talk about it. It was bad for his reputation.

"This is your raiding party?" Paige asked incredulously.

"I'm insulted." Phoebe said contemptuously.

"Leo, Dad, get the boys out of here." Piper instructed, as she raised her hands and blew up the two nearest demons. "This won't take long."

Leo took baby Chris back from Paige and he and Victor headed for the attic door.

Grams tried to fling Abaddon across the room, but nothing happened.

"That amulet protects him." Chris said. "Remove it and you can kill him. And the rest of his demons will die with him."

Grams went after one of the other demons, flinging him around the room.

As the demons conjured fireballs, Paige was calling them to her and using them against the demons. She vanquished two of them quickly.

Phoebe kicked the demon nearest her in the face, knocking him to the ground.

Abaddon was conjuring fireballs as fast as he could and throwing them at the betrayer. Chris ducked behind the much abused couch, dodging the fireballs. He tried telekinetically sending them back at Abaddon, but they bounced off of him. His amulet was protecting him.

Piper stood in the attic and tried to manipulate her molecules so that she could pass through matter. The problem was, she didn't know how to do it on command yet. Seeing her son in danger, Piper tried to blow up Abaddon, but nothing happened. At first she figured it was because of the amulet, but then she realized that she was feeling a little light headed, a feeling she was beginning to associate with her new power.

"Hey! Get away from him!" Piper called out angrily. Abaddon turned and threw the fireball in his hand at Piper.

"Mom!" Chris cried out, coming out from behind the couch and running towards his mother.

But just as she hoped, the fireball passed through her and destroyed an antique breakfront behind her.

Chris ran up to Abaddon, intending to stop him from throwing any more fireballs at his family. Seeing that Abaddon was distracted by Piper, Chris snatched the amulet from around Abaddon's neck.

Piper, who was realizing that her new powers activated when she felt light or light-headed, did her best to think heavy thoughts. Seeing that the amulet was gone, she through up her hands and a shocked Abaddon was blown apart. The remaining two demons were vanquished with him.

"Well, that was fun." Grams said. "But it is time for us to go."

Leo, Victor and the boys came back into the attic.

"Do you have to go?" Piper asked, looking at her son.

"They only gave me a few minutes, just to let you know that I'm alright." Chris said sadly.

His parents hugged him tightly one last time. Chris and Grams walked back towards the light shining through the attic window. Within moments they were incorporeal again.

"Good bye." Chris called as he faded away again. Grams smiled at her granddaughters and great grandsons, proud of her family before she too faded away.

Piper began to cry quietly. Leo embraced her, rubbing her back. Victor and the sisters took the boys back downstairs to give the grieving parents some time alone.

_TBC…_


	12. Chapter 12

**The Best Laid Plans**

* * *

_Chapter 12_

Leo held Piper tightly. He couldn't believe that Chris had come to his own wiccanning. He had thought that his grown-up son was gone forever. He'd seen him, felt him, fade out of existence. But no, he still existed. He was with Piper's family: Grams, Patty, Prue and the other matriarchs. They might even be allowed to see him again one day. And that was enough. Just knowing that his son wasn't gone completely, that part of his would live on, that was enough.

_'It wasn't enough.'_ Piper thought. She'd gotten to touch her son for a moment. She knew her son was with Prue, Mom and Grams, but it wasn't enough. Would she watch her baby grow up only to lose him on his 23rd birthday? If she was even alive to see his 23rd birthday. She had to know. She couldn't spend the next 23 years waiting for something terrible to happen.

It felt right being in Leo's arms, but now was not the time. Piper pulled away from Leo. "That potion you created to send Chris back to his time – you said it would have worked?" Piper asked.

"Yes, I'm sure of it. What are you thinking, Piper?" Leo asked, not understanding.

"I have to know, Leo. I can't love that little boy for 23 years only to lose him again. I couldn't bear it." Piper tried to explain. "Please don't argue with me, I have to do this. I have to know."

"I know you do, so do I. That's why I'm coming with you." Leo said.

"No, you can't. You have to stay here with the boys in case something goes wrong. In case I don't come back. I don't want them left alone." Piper said.

"No way, Piper. Either we both go or nobody goes." Leo said, knowing he was fighting a losing argument.

"Help me, or I'll recreate the potion when you aren't around, Leo." Piper said.

"But what time will you go to?" Leo gave in.

"I'll go forward 23 years from today. Two months past his birthday. If he's still alive… that will be enough. That's all I need to know. That he's alive. Alive and happy this time." Piper said. "Now, let's make that potion."

"We don't need to. We still have two vials from the last batch. One to take you there and one to bring you back." Leo said, walking over the cupboards where he'd placed the potions after Chris died.

Piper picked up a piece of chalk and went to draw a triquatra symbol on the wall. Once the drawing was complete, Piper stepped away from the symbol. Leo handed Piper two vials of the potion. One she pocketed, the other she threw the other at the symbol on the wall. A portal opened up on the wall.

"Concentrate on the date that you want to go to, Piper." Leo instructed as she walked toward the portal. As she reached the portal she could feel herself being drawn in, leaving only Leo standing into the attic.

Piper stepped back into the attic, in the same place she had just been, but this attic wasn't empty, someone was waiting for her and it wasn't Leo.

* * *

Chris could feel that his mother was gone again. His father was still nearby, but not very close. Chris was with the others. He liked the other women, he did, but they weren't his mother. One had a loud voice and made scary faces at him. The other had a nice voice and sang songs to him, but it wasn't the same. He could sense the other little boy was there, the one who had protected him from the scary monster. So was the other man, the new one that seemed nice. But they weren't what he wanted. He wanted his mother back. Chris started to cry.

"It's okay, Chris. Yes, it is. Yes it is." Phoebe cooed as she placed Chris in a bouncy seat. She made faces for him and pinched his cheeks. "Ooh, I could just smush you. Yes, I could. Yes, I could. I could just smush your little cheeks."

_'More scary faces,'_ Chris thought, _'as if I hadn't had enough of those already.'_ He started to cry even harder.

* * *

"I've been waiting for you." Said an older Piper.

"How did you know I'd be here?" Piper asked. _'Hey, I don't look bad for someone who's 54 years old.'_

Older Piper's hair was still a deep rich brown color, although she had it pulled up in a nice up-do. She was also wearing a lovely red silk dress.

"I'm you, remember. Everything you know I know. Everything you did I've already done. Duh." Older Piper said sarcastically.

"Don't get snippy with me. If you already know everything about me than you know why I'm here. You understand why I had to come." Piper said.

"Of course I understand. That's why I'm here. Chris is fine. Alive and well." Older Piper said with a smile. "Although, you picked a bad day to come."

"I have to…" Piper began.

"…see for yourself. I know." Older Piper finished.

"Okay, that whole finishing each other's sentences thing is going to…" Piper began again.

"…Get old fast." Older Piper finished with a smile.

"Stop that. What about Wyatt? Is he…?" Piper asked, concerned about both sons.

"Is he what?" Older Piper asked. At younger Piper's dirty look she said "You said not to finish your sentences anymore."

"Don't play games with me, lady. Are my sons okay?" Piper demanded.

"Yes, as you'll soon see. Almost everyone is downstairs. I'll find a place to hide you so that you can see what is going on, but I don't want you talking to Chris or Wyatt. They won't understand. I never told them about the other Chris. And I don't intend to tell them." Older Piper said firmly. "That's why you need to take this. It will make you invisible. You will be able to see Chris and Wyatt, but they won't be able to see you."

Piper nodded in understanding. She'd already decided not to tell her sons about the other timeline. About Wyatt turning evil and Chris dying trying to save him. Telling Wyatt that he'd already been evil once could turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy.

"Follow me." Older Piper said as she lead her invisible younger self out of the attic.

They went slowly and quietly down the attic steps to the second floor hallway. Piper saw that the door to her room was closed. She could hear voices from her room. It sounded like Paige and Phoebe were talking to someone. Piper started to move closer, but her older self pulled her along.

Older Piper told her younger self, "Try to avoid Paige and Phoebe. They would understand, but you might be tempted to ask them things about the future. Things you shouldn't know yet."

"Future consequences?" Piper asked, annoyed, as they continued down the stairs to the first floor.

"Exactly. I like my present just the way it is. We've had good times and bad times, but I wouldn't change any of it." Older Piper said.

As they reached the ground floor, Piper noticed that there were flowers and decorations everywhere. "What's happening today?"

"Like I said, you picked a bad day. The entire family is here." Older Piper said.

"Why?" Piper asked. But before her older self could answer she saw the reason. In the living room was a wedding cake. She saw corporeal Grams, Mom, Prue and a much older looking Victor in the room. There were some more people there that she didn't know. Along with Chris and Wyatt, both of whom were wearing tuxedos. They both looked so handsome. Wyatt looked a lot like Leo, but much taller. He certainly didn't get that from her. And Chris. He looked the same. The hair was a little neater and he was clean shaven. But the biggest difference was how happy he looked.

"Because Chris is getting married today." Older Piper announced.

"Married? He's only 23. Who's he marrying?" Piper asked, shocked.

"Bianca. You remember her." Older Piper said with a smile.

"She tried to kill him." Piper said angrily.

"Keep your voice down. That was a different Bianca. This one is different. She was never corrupted by Wyatt. Her mother raised her differently after the older Bianca came back through time." Older Piper explained. "I tried telling them they were too young, but you know how headstrong Chris is. This one is just as stubborn as the other."

"Yeah, but she's so much older than him. Why…" Piper began.

"Do you want to stay or should I take you back up to the attic so that you can go home?" Older Piper asked, already knowing the answer.

The two Pipers heard people coming down the stairs. Piper could hear Paige and Phoebe's voices as well as some she didn't know. "It's time, Piper." She heard a voice call out.

"Stay out of the way and be quiet. They might not be able to see you, but they will be able to hear or feel you." Older Piper whispered. "Meet me in the attic after the ceremony. The invisibility potion will last that long."

Piper watched her older self walk into the living room. "It's time." She heard her say.

Piper heard _'Here comes the Bride'_ being played on the piano. The pianist was a young teenaged girl. With her dark brown she could be a member of the family. Phoebe's daughter, perhaps? The one she was so eager to have?

Piper watched her older self take her place in the front. In walked Leo, also wearing a tuxedo. He had aged over the last 23 years. His golden hair was liberally sprinkled with grey and his face was lined. But he was still handsome. Older versions of Paige and Phoebe quickly entered the room. Both were still beautiful, although Piper could see streaks of grey in Phoebe's hair.

Another teenaged girl entered the room, dressed in a bridesmaid's gown. She too looked like a member of the family. Piper wished she knew who they were. But perhaps it was better not to know. She'd find out eventually.

The bride entered the room behind the girl. Everyone stood up as Bianca walked down the aisle wearing an ivory colored strapless gown. Piper watched her youngest son's face light up as he saw his bride. Seeing the joyful expression on his face she understood why her older self hadn't tried to stop the union.

Piper watched tearfully as Grams officiated the wedding. She could barely tear her eyes off her sons, but she wanted to see everything. Chris standing tall next to Bianca, with his back toward her. Next to him was Wyatt, his best man. Her older self stood nearby next to Leo, holding his hand. Mom, Prue, Paige and Phoebe were next to them, as was Victor.

The ceremony was over too quickly for Piper. Everyone was congratulating the newlyweds. Older Piper walked over to where she'd left her younger self.

"I'll meet you upstairs and see you off." Older Piper whispered.

"No. You belong here with your family." Piper whispered back. "And I belong with mine."

Older Piper nodded and returned to her family. She hugged her son and daughter-in-law ecstatically.

Piper smiled at the family, her family. Then she walked back upstairs to the attic. It was time to go home.

Piper removed the vial from her pocket and threw it at the wall. Concentrating on where she wanted to arrive, Piper stepped through the portal.

* * *

Piper stepped back out into the attic. It was her attic she knew because Leo was there waiting anxiously.

"Well?" He asked impatiently. "What happened?"

Piper smiled at her ex-husband. "Everything is fine. I'll tell you later. Right now I want to be with my children." She took his hand in hers and headed toward the attic door.

Piper and Leo walked downstairs and found the family. They were down in the conservatory, playing with the boys. Well, Wyatt was playing. Chris was crying and Phoebe was leaning over him making faces and trying to make him smile.

Piper smiled at her family. She picked Chris up out of his bouncy seat and cuddled him close, kissing his downy soft head.

Chris let out a deep sigh as his mother took him in her arms. Finally, back with one of the only people who made him feel truly safe.

"Is everything alright, Piper?" Paige asked, concerned.

"No, not yet. But it will be." She replied, cuddling her youngest son close and smiling at her older son. Leo had picked him up. 'The four of us made a beautiful family.' she thought. Leo had broken her heart many times before, but she knew know how devoted he was to his family. She didn't know what would happen, but she was glad she had a chance to find out.

_THE END_

**Author Note:** Thank you for all of your kind reviews – and even the semi-kind ones. And an extra big shout-out and thank you to my friends from Television Without Pity, without whom none of my stories would have been written. I love to get input on my stories, and tried to implement some of them. This story had far more twists and turns than I had originally intended, but when inspiration struck I had to go with it. As for my flagrant abuse of verb tenses, I sometimes get swept up when I'm writing and don't always go back and proofread the way I should. This is the end of this story, but there are two more stories bouncing around in my brain that I will start work on right away.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but my story and any original characters I created.

**Archive:** Please do not archive without my permission.


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